My Work of Art
by Ukyou-Taisuke
Summary: Kurashima Maya is a skilled piano player, who also has to deal with problems at school. What happens when she suddenly starts hating the hobby of playing the piano? For what reason? And who can help her? KawamuraOC
1. Chapter 1

**Hey...I'm sorry for not updating in such a long time! I've been slacking off at everything and anything...but this idea came to me when I was practicing piano (I have to take an exam in August).**

**Enjoy and tell me if I should continue or not! Or else I might delete it...**

**Ukyou-Taisuke**

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My Work of Art

Her fingers moved along quickly and skillfully across the keys of the black, elegant piano. The melody was soothing and calm, replenishing the listeners' negative feelings. She bit the inside of her lip as she accidentally played a wrong note when she crossed her hands over. But no one noticed.

One man, no younger than 30 years, stood at the side with his eyes closed. He flinched at the sound of the wrong note. He snapped his head up and glared at the piano player, who was concentrating as hard as she could not to make any more careless mistakes.

And as the song came to an end, the audience applauded loudly. The girl stood up and bowed, causing the uproar to become louder. She smiled and headed off the stage to her teacher, who was frowning and giving her disapproving looks.

She closed her eyes, more than ready with what she knew she had to deal with.

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"Kurashima-san! Sorry I couldn't make it yesterday!"

Kurashima Maya turned around and smiled at her classmate, Momoshiro Takeshi. He caught up with her and panted heavily before standing up straight and asking, "How'd you do?"

She fidgeted nervously with her fingers. "Well," she began, but someone interrupted her.

"Maya-chan!"

Maya paused at the sound of her name, and her best friend, Tsunoki Yuuka popped in front of her. Her eyes were sparkling with laughter. "You were amazing yesterday! I've never heard you play that good before!"

Maya twisted her lips in a mock frown. "How rude!"

The threesome laughed, and Maya caught sight of Kawamura Takashi, her childhood friend. His father always took care of Maya when her own father wasn't able to, and Maya and Takashi would chat together. She was always there with him, from karate lessons to tennis practice.

"Maya-chan...What're you staring at?" Yuuka stuck her head in front of Maya and looked in the direction she was looking in. She smirked. "Kawamura-senpai, huh?" Yuuka nudged her friend with her elbow, grinning.

Momoshiro widened his eyes at Yuuka's statement. "Kurashima-san! You like Taka-san?"

Maya shook her head furiously and looked down. "No!" she squeaked. Her face was hidden by her shoulder-length hair. But if she were to lift her face, she knew that it would be flaming red.

Momoshiro patted her on the back. "Denial, denial!" he sang, laughing so hard that he was clutching his stomach.

Yuuka joined in with the laughter. "Now, now, Momoshiro-kun! Don't tease her like that!"

Maya stared at her two friends in utter horror. "Hah! Look who's talking, Yuuka!"

"Maya-chan!" another call interrupted the moment.

"Takashi-kun," she acknowledged, fully aware of Momo and Yuuka's snickers from behind her.

"Your father said he'd be coming home late, so you're staying at our place until then, ok?" Kawamura said, his tennis bag slung casually over his shoulder.

She nodded. "Otou-san also mentioned something like that last night..."

He smiled. "I have tennis practice, so you have the choice to go back the shop without me, or wait until I finish. Find me during lunch and tell me your decision." He raised a hand in the air. "Ja!" He ran off.

Maya waved back, and then turned around to face the still snickering pair. She smiled evilly. "Oh, and if I didn't know any better, I would've guessed that you two were together already!"

The two flushed bright red and pounced on her. "Maya/Maya-chan!"

She merely giggled and ran to class.

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Maya was staring at her fingers the whole time during classes. Just because of one mistake on the piano. One simple mistake. Her fingers were all pink-red coloured because of her teacher. He was a perfectionist in every single thing he did.

"Kurashima-san. Are you listening?"

Maya looked, up, startled. She answered truthfully, "No..."

"Well, could you please pay attention to the class?"

_I'll try..._she thought. "Hai..."

The teacher walked away and began talking again. Maya looked back at her fingers. She could feel Momo and Yuuka's stares on her, and she squirmed uncomfortably.

The bell rang suddenly, and Maya was the first to stand. She gathered her books quickly and tried to go out the door, but Momo put a hand on her shoulder.

"It's not like you to space out during classes, Kurashima-san."

Yuuka stood beside him with her hands on her hips. "Maya-chan, tell us what's bothering you!"

She turned away from them. "Later, ok? I just need time." She looked up again and saw the two practically shoving their faces into hers. She moved away from them. "And space!" she added hurriedly.

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"So, are you staying for tennis practice?" Kawamura rubbed his head sheepishly.

Maya bowed. "If that's ok..."

He looked at her awkwardly and stuttered, "Y-you don't have to be so formal around me..."

As the two were talking, Yuuka and Momo were sitting with the regulars, chatting casually.

Fuji looked around. "Why do I feel like someone's missing?"

"Taka-san's over there with Ma-chan, Fujiko, nya!" Eiji replied, jumping around the table.

"No...I feel like there's someone else missing."

Oishi stood up and counted the surrounding people. "Kaidoh...Fuji...Tezuka...Eiji...Momo... Echizen...Inu – That's right! Inui's not here!" He went into a panicking frenzy. "He could be lost, or he could've drowned himself in his own data..."

"Oishi, I'm fine." Inui walked over, holding his green notebook.

Yuuka whispered to Momo, "Who drowns themselves in their own data, anyway?" And they snickered together.

Eiji jumped on the table. "Inui, what were you doing, nya? You usually don't come this late."

Inui frowned. "All of you went to see Kurashima-san's piano recital yesterday, right?"

"I couldn't go. My mother ordered me to stay home and look after my sisters..." Momo explained.

"Ah. Anyway, I realized today that she's been acting weird. Have any of you noticed?"

Yuuka, Momo, and Kaidoh raised their hands.

"She was daydreaming in class today. The almost _never_ happens without a good reason." Yuuka proclaimed, a serious look on her face.

"She looked a bit nervous when I asked her about the recital this morning." Momoshiro said.

"She kept staring at her fingers." Kaidoh mumbled.

Inui pushed his glasses up. "I see... Well, I've found out why she's been acting weird. I did a little extra research, you see."

They looked at him expectantly.

"Well, the truth is..."

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**And I'll stop there! I'm sorry for starting a new story when I'm still not done my other PoT story...But I just had to write this!**

**Review!**

**Ukyou-Taisuke**


	2. Chapter 2

**Yay, I've finally updated 'Tennis in a Different Point of View'! –big grin-**

**Well, if you read that, then you can read this!**

**Ukyou-Taisuke**

**-**

**-**

Inui paused. He flipped through his notebook. Then he stated bluntly, "I forgot."

Everyone fell over.

Eiji got up first, rubbing his head. "Nya...Inui! Why'd you forget?"

"Gomen, I forgot to write it in my notes. And I forgot. Temporarily, that is."

Ryoma just frowned and looked away. "Che. Mada mada dane, senpai."

**-**

**-**

"Wow..." enthused Maya. She stared at the Regulars, doing their warm up. They were jogging at a steady pace around the perimeter of the tennis courts.

"YOU OAF! I WON'T FORGIVE YOU IF YOU LOSE A MATCH!" Yuuka screamed at Momoshiro, who gulped and ran faster at the sound of her voice.

Maya stared at Yuuka in surprise. "I'm surprised that you're not related to that Tomoka girl over there." She pointed to the crazy girl, who was cheering loudly for her 'Ryoma-sama'.

Yuuka huffed and placed her hands on her hips. "Excuuuse me! I wouldn't be surprised if you acted shy and sweet like that...uhm...Ryuzaki Sakuno! Was that her name?"

Maya nodded. "But I think being shy and sweet is better than being loud-mouthed and hyper."

Yuuka pointed out, "But you _do_ know that Kawamura-senpai has both personalities, right? He's crazy! Whenever he's given a tennis racket, he explodes!"

"Yuuka, although you are my best friend, I won't let you insult Takashi-kun! He's been my best friend ever since we were kids! And I don't mind if he has problems controlling his personality! In any case, you and Momoshiro-kun fight like an old married couple!"

It was Yuuka's turn to blush heavily. "N-n-no, we don't!"

"Oh yes, you do!"

Then, Ryuzaki-sensei snapped at them, "Hey, girls! Stop bickering! You're bothering my team!"

"Y-yes, Ma'am!" The two friends quickly saluted and continued watching silently.

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"BURNING! I'M ON FIRE!" Kawamura roared, smashing the ball onto the other side of the court.

Eiji panted heavily, collapsing as he tripped over a small pebble on the court. "N-no... more... Taka-san...nya..."

Kawamura dropped the racket and started freaking out at the look of his friend. "E-Eiji! O-oi! Are you alright?" He jumped over the net and helped Eiji stand up.

"N-nya... Taka-san's power...too much, nya..." Eiji gasped in between breaths.

"Eiji!" Oishi rushed over, checking over his doubles partner worriedly. "Are you hurt? Do you need anything?"

"Nya...water sounds nice, nya..."

Inui disrupted them unpleasantly. "No, Kikumaru; you can't. You lost to Kawamura, so you need to drink this." He held up a transparent glass with black, bubbling liquid inside. "This is the new Inui Juice Remix, upgraded." He grinned evilly.

Eiji's eyes were almost falling out of their sockets as he witnessed a bubble from the drink pop menacingly. "No! Inui, nya! I'll...do your homework for a week! A week!"

Inui frowned. "No. You'll bring my marks down."

"Nya..." Eiji took the glass hesitantly and yelped as a bubble popped in his face. "Is...Is this safe to drink...?"

"Just try it out."

"YOU MEAN YOU HAVEN'T TRIED IT OUT YOURSELF YET?! SUICIDE! SUICIDE!" Eiji shrieked, nearly dropping the glass.

And Tezuka, with his sharp eyes and ears, heard the commotion, and barked, "Kikumaru! Hurry up and get it over with!"

Eiji gulped, knowing full well that he couldn't disobey the Buchou's orders. He put the glass to his lips and gulped it down hurriedly, with sweat trickling down his face.

Everyone watched as Eiji's face first turned pale, and then it changed to red. It was a blur of colors before it finally settled on green, which sent Eiji screaming and running off to the water fountain.

As everyone stared after their teammate, Inui was jotting his ridiculous notes in his notebook. He was cackling evilly as well, his glasses gleaming gleefully.

Tezuka sighed and looked at his watch before calling out, "Practice is over for today! Dismissed!"

Kawamura looked in the direction of the water fountain, searching for the red-headed acrobatic. All he could hear was water rushing awfully fast, and some muffled thumping noises. He instantly felt guilty, but in a way, he was somewhat glad that he didn't have to drink the juice himself.

He grabbed his bag and headed out, waving to his childhood friend and heading over.

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Maya stood quietly, waiting for Kawamura. She heaved a sigh and looked at her feet. Yuuka had run off, yelling at Momoshiro, who had been yelling back at her.

"Thinking about something?"

Maya snapped her head up, her eyes meeting Kawamura's. She smiled. "No, it's nothing important. Let's go!" She grabbed his hand and started walking in the direction of the restaurant.

Kawamura, surprised at her sudden action, flushed lightly and allowed her to drag him home.

Maya, suddenly realizing what she'd done, turned a pretty pink color. (1)

The two beings walked on, not realizing that six people were currently following them: Fuji, Eiji, Inui, Momoshiro, Yuuka and Echizen.

Echizen stared at the scene, bored. "Why are we doing this? And why'd you have to drag me with you?"

Yuuka pouted and put an arm over his head. "Because it's fun, which you don't know how to have, Ochibi." She declared, using the nickname that Eiji had given the dense first year.

Momoshiro nodded in agreement. "Echizen, I have to agree with Yuuka-chan on this."

Fuji's usual smile widened by a fraction. "So Momoshiro...you've switched to first names, now? I remember just last week, you were calling her Tsunoki-chan."

"N-no I wasn't!"

Yuuka fidgeted nervously, and turned back to the couple they were supposed to be spying on. "Come on! They're getting away!" she hissed.

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"Ah!" Maya stretched her arms. "This place feels so nostalgic! Doesn't it?"

Kawamura lifted his right shoulder in a half-shrug. "Somewhat, but I'm here all the time, so..." he trailed off.

"Well, I haven't been here for a while." Maya stated, taking everything in with her brown, sparkling eyes.

"Maya-chan! Long time no see, eh?" Kawamura's father clonked down the stairs, grinning widely.

"Jii-san!" she greeted, smiling.

"How's your piano going? I was quite surprised when your dad phoned me last night."

Maya hesitated slightly. "It's going fine."

Kawamura looked at Maya, confused. He knew her well enough that hesitation wasn't a good thing, coming from her.

His father seemed to be confused as well. But he didn't question her, knowing that she wouldn't spill anything even if he tried to persuade her. "So," he cleared his throat, "how's the tennis team, Takashi?"

Kawamura smiled sheepishly. "It's good...although I'm not sure how much longer we can live with Inui and his creepy drinks."

Maya frowned. "Aw, come on, Takashi-kun! Suck it up and stop it with the negative thoughts!" Then she spotted his tennis bag and walked towards it. She unzipped the bag and began rummaging through it.

Kawamura and his father peered over her shoulder in curiosity. They blinked when Maya pulled out Kawamura's tennis racket.

"Come on; think positive!" And with that, Maya shoved the racket into Kawamura's hands.

It wasn't before long that the restaurant had to be closed because of some...technical difficulties.

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(1): I usually don't use the word 'pretty' or 'pink', but there was no other word to describe the situation...was there?

**Yay! Second chapter!**

**I think I'm going to be more practical with this story than my other PoT one. Details are going to be put in properly and not randomly this time!**

**REVIEW please? I'll give out muffins!**

**Ukyou-Taisuke**


	3. Chapter 3

**VERY IMPORTANT NOTE – PLEASE READ!!**

**Ok, as you all know, school is starting (hooray...). I just wanted to let you people know that I won't be updating as often; stupid homework and stupid teachers... You get what I mean, right? I'll try and update at least every two weeks, and maybe even earlier, but don't blame me if I end up updating in a few **_**months**_**. I'm sorry...and I'm sure this goes the same for every other author, right? So...yeah.**

**END OF NOTE**

**Third chappie! Thanks for all the reviews! I'm sorry if you feel that I'm sort of neglecting this story, but I guess my first priority is 'Tennis in a Different Point of View'.**

**When I finish one or the other, I'll just work on one at a time! No more multi-tasking for me! I find it incredibly to focus on two things at the same time...so...yeah.**

**Ukyou-Taisuke**

**-**

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"Maya, you have your piano lesson in less than an hour. I think that it's best that you prepare." Maya's father reminded her, sipping from his teacup.

Maya stiffened and headed to the old, black piano. The keys were worn out from practicing, and there were at least two keys that had broken strings. She reached for her books and music papers and placed them into her piano bag.

She stared once more at the old piano. _I told him that we needed someone to look at it; the keys have been broken since last year._

She ran a stiff hand over the cold keys and placed her forehead against the cover. _How long has it been? Since I've started playing piano..._

And she let her mind wander back...back to when she just started playing the piano.

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_"Otou-san! 'Tou-san, come look! I can play this song now!" A younger Maya – about 7 years old – bounced in her seat excitedly. She wiggled with impatience while her father stood up slowly from his chair and walked over._

_"What is it?" Her father asked, patting her head affectionately._

_Maya frowned and pointed to her music sheet. "I _told_ you! I was playing 'Mary had a Little Lamb'! Weren't you listening?"_

_He chuckled and kneeled down next to her. "Can you play for me?"_

_"You weren't listening at all, were you?" Maya accused, a pout remaining stubbornly on her face._

_"Well...uh...just play!"_

_Maya huffed. "Fine." And she placed her hands on the keys and looked over them carefully. She squinted once more at the black notes on the sheet and began playing slowly._

_Her fingers weren't yet used to the odd feeling of the big instrument, and she fumbled a bit with the notes, playing several wrong notes._

_As she slowed, signaling that it had ended, she looked directly at her father. "Well?" she pressed._

_Her father smiled gently and tucked a strand of loose hair behind her ear. "That was beautiful," he commented. And he added quietly, "Your mother would be so proud."_

_Maya's grin widened. She had heard so many stories about her mother, not getting to actually know her. She had also heard many remarks about her looking so much like her, and how her mother had played the piano so beautifully._

_"But," her father cut in, "you'll need to practice more if you want to get better!"_

_Maya looked determinedly at her father. "That's exactly what I plan to do," she stated._

_Her father nearly choked on nothingness. "W-what?" he sputtered. Most children would nearly die at the word of 'practice'. But his child was looking at him with a face that would make anyone proud._

_"I want to play the piano for my _own_ sake. Not just for Mommy's. I _want_ to play piano because I want to." She finished, looking at her fingers._

_Her father stood, stunned, at the resemblance between his child and her deceased mother. And he swept her into a gentle embrace. "You've not only inherited her looks," he murmured, "but you've also inherited her will."_

_Maya giggled and pulled away, grabbing her spring jacket and stepping into her shoes. "I'm going to visit Takashi-kun!" she proclaimed. "Then I can brag all I want!" she exclaimed, zipping her jacket up and shooting her father one last smile. "After all, you can't play 'Mary had a Little Lamb' in karate!"_

-

_When will those days come back? It's all because I changed teachers,_ Maya thought bitterly. She looked at the time: 7:20PM. Her lesson was at 7:30. It lasted half an hour; half an hour of pure torture.

"'Tou-san, I'm going out for my piano lesson!" she yelled before grabbing her bag and slipping her shoes on.

A soft "Be careful!" was heard just before Maya closed the door.

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"...and your fingers! Didn't I tell you to use the middle finger instead of your index finger? Why won't you listen?"

Maya winced as her teacher as of a six months ago slapped her fingers with a wooden chopstick. Her old teacher had gotten into an accident, and she wouldn't be able to teach anymore due to her injuries.

"I'm sorry..." she murmured.

The teacher sighed impatiently. "That's all for today. Fix that fingering of yours and use the pedal at the correct places."

Maya tried to protest. "But I think that the pedal here would sound better – ah!" she cried out, holding her red, sore fingers.

"Didn't I tell you?! It's not about how it _sounds_; it's about playing _right_. When you play right, you don't need to add any fancy actions. Now _go _home and _practice_!" he thundered, his face red with anger.

Maya moved backwards and excused herself quickly before grabbing her bag.

Confused tears spilled down her cheeks when she got out of the building, and she closed her eyes, trembling.

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"Morning..." Maya mumbled, yawning and covering her mouth with her hand politely.

Yuuka stared at her in surprise. "No sleep last night? But you _always_ sleep! At night, I mean."

Maya tried to glare at her, but that attempt resulted in another yawn. "Hey...I'm only human, Yuu-chan!" she teased.

"Yo!" another cheerful voice greeted. Maya and Yuuka stared at Momoshiro, who was pedaling his bike on school property.

Yuuka stared at him blankly. "Aren't you _not_ supposed to be riding your bike on school property?"

Momo stared back at her. Then he shrugged. "Well, who cares?"

"I do!"

And the two began bickering again.

Maya looked between the both of them and tried to stop the fighting. "Hey, hey...that's enough out of the both of you."

The two stubborn mules crossed their arms and 'hmphed' at the same time.

Maya sighed and frowned, shaking her head. _They're so childish..._

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"Kurashima-san? Are you sure you're alright? You've been yawning an awful lot..." the teacher remarked, giving her a worried glance.

Maya smiled tiredly. "I'm fine..."

"Maybe you should go to the nurse's and have a rest there."

"No, no!" Maya shook her head. "I'm fine," she repeated.

The teacher looked at her worriedly. "If you change your mind, you can just head down there and explain to her."

"Hai."

Yuuka 'pst'ed to Maya and glared at her before dropping her pencil on purpose and blowing a note onto Maya's desk.

Maya opened it:

_Are you okay?_

She smiled wryly and gave Yuuka a thumbs-up.

_How long will this go on...?_

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**Short chappie. I'm sorry! Me got lots to do...like HOMEWORK! Boy...I can't even begin to complain how much I've had to work. And I was sorta being stupid with this fic. Sorryz!**

**I can't guarantee that the next update will be faster...but review, ne? Cookies?**

**Ukyou-Taisuke**


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